This year, all Americans six months and older should get a flu vaccine shot and not, as they have done in previous years, get a nasal spray, according to an official health advisory released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while it’s best to get vaccinated before the end of October, getting vaccinated later is OK. “Vaccination should continue throughout the flu season, even in January or later,” the CDC says. “Some young children might need two doses of vaccine.”If that wasn’t bad enough, microbes that cause norovirus — which in turn leads to vomiting and diarrhea — as well as other infections lurk right under most people’s noses.

The bad news for planes with quick turnarounds: nasty bugs can last for days. The sinister sounding Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (more commonly known as MRSA) lasted longest (168 hours) on material from a seat-back pocket while the bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7 (also known as E.coli, which can cause kidney problems) survived longest (96 hours) on the material from the armrest of planes, according to research presented to the American Society for Microbiology earlier this year. Restrooms in planes where space is cramped is also another hotspot for germs.

Most people (at least during flu season) are careful about touching stainless steel poles on subways and buses, but don’t often think about subway turnstiles and bus ticket machines that are arguably touched by even more people, says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. “They don’t routinely disinfect these machines,” he says. Commuters are 6 times more likely to develop an acute respiratory infection if they traveled recently by bus or tram, according to a 2011 study by the University of Nottingham in the U.K. and published in “BMC Journal of Infectious Diseases.”

Smart people keep their distance from sick colleagues, but then use the same coffee machine or water cooler. Germs like hard surfaces and can find their way to 40% to 60% of common surfaces in offices, hotels and health care facilities in just 2 to 4 hours, says Gerba, who recently conducted a study on how viruses spread in the workplace. He presented its results earlier this year at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Washington, D.C., an infectious disease meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Obviously, avoid doorknobs and other people’s keyboards.

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Liquid soap in washrooms

While it’s a good idea to open the door of a washroom with your sleeve, there’s one other piece of equipment that should be avoided like the plague: Soap dispensers. Liquid soap itself can become contaminated with bacteria and 1-in-4 dispenser machines in public restrooms are contaminated with bacteria, including fecal matter, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. “Washing with soap from dispensers with sealed refills significantly reduced bacteria on hands,” the study found. Failing that, bring your own.

When traveling by bus, train or plane this holiday season — or even when visiting a theater — think twice before choosing aisle seats. These are the seats that will be touched most often by other people as they’re trying to find their own, Gerba says. In 2008, members of a tour group experienced diarrhea and vomiting in an airplane flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Other passengers who suffered secondary infections were either sitting next to those infected — or unsuspecting passengers seated in aisle seats, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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Salt and pepper shakers

There’s often no point in washing your hands before a meal (thereby avoiding doorknobs and soap dispensers), and picking up clean cutlery — and then using condiment holders that have often not been washed. A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Virginia examined 30 people who were showing symptoms of the common cold and were asked to identify 10 surfaces they’d touched in their home over the previous 18 hours: more than 40% of the surfaces tested positive for rhinovirus, the most common virus to cause the common cold: All salt and pepper shakers cited by participants tested positive.

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Exercise equipment at the gym

Bacteria loves moisture, especially sweat, but one study found that rhinoviruses still cling to exercise equipment — even after cleaning. A final thought for germ-phobic people who are afraid to travel this holiday season: Many colds and flu are spread around the home, says Elizabeth Scott, associated professor at the Department of Biology at Simmons College in Boston. But it’s always good to leave the house prepared. “When I am traveling, I always carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it many times,” she adds.

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Exercise equipment at the gym

Bacteria loves moisture, especially sweat, but one study found that rhinoviruses still cling to exercise equipment — even after cleaning. A final thought for germ-phobic people who are afraid to travel this holiday season: Many colds and flu are spread around the home, says Elizabeth Scott, associated professor at the Department of Biology at Simmons College in Boston. But it’s always good to leave the house prepared. “When I am traveling, I always carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it many times,” she adds.

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